My Civil War ancestor was wrong

I am a descendant of Confederate Gen. James Longstreet, Robert E. Lee’s second in command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

I love “Ole Pete” as family and honor him as a master military strategist and as an utterly fearless soldier in combat.

However, as much as it saddens me to admit it, Longstreet was a traitor to this country, fighting on the wrong side of history, choosing regional allegiance over national allegiance and to perpetuate the enslavement of human beings made in God’s image.

Frankly, it is only by the grace of a magnanimous Abraham Lincoln that my ancestor, along with hundreds of other Confederate officers, was not imprisoned or executed for treason against the American flag.

There are no statues of Longstreet except the one on the battlefield of Gettysburg. If there were, I, as a son of the South, would be the first to contribute not only to its removal from a public square, but to its destruction.

And, as a person of faith, I happen to think Longstreet, knowing what he now knows in heaven, would applaud such an act.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 6:27 PM with the headline "My Civil War ancestor was wrong."